Allllright…who’s ready to get sweaty?!?
After putting out a call for new workout ideas yesterday, I noticed that many of you were looking for some cardio, some full body, and even some plyometrics. Sooo, I went ahead and combined them all into one, 30-minute workout.
I actually did a variation of this a couple of months ago on a whim and had totally forgotten about it up until yesterday. It’s a quick, no-messin’ around routine, that will most definitely leave you nice and sweaty by the time you’re finished.
A couple of things to note:
- The speeds given are just recommendations. If you want to walk, walk. If you can jog moderately at 7.0, more power to ya. Adjust the speeds to suit your own abilities.
- You have 2 minutes of a moderate jog, 30 seconds at an increased speed, followed by 1 minute of a plyometric exercise. I simply hopped off the treadmill, left it running, and completed the exercises next to it…if you’re afraid of getting crazy looks or speed skating into the treadmill next to you while at the gym, feel free to complete the cardio and plyometric moves separately (but go ahead and do two rounds of the plyo moves!).
- Three of the plyo exercises will have you moving laterally (side to side). These will help not only with your speed, agility, and quickness, but they’ll also work on those outer thighs, hips, and glutes, too.
- I recommend finishing your plyometric moves at about 54-55 seconds, just to give yourself some time to catch your breath and hop back on the treadmill. We don’t want any face plants into the running belt!
- And if you really feel like giving yourself a run for your money, go ahead and repeat the entire routine once.
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As always, here’s a rundown of the plyometric moves seen above:
Mountain Climbers – Start in a push-up position with arms completely straight. Position hands slightly wider than shoulders and keep your body should in a straight line from head to ankles. Lift one foot off the floor and raise your knee as close to your chest as you can without allowing your lower back to round. Reverse the movement back to the starting position and repeat with other leg. Alternate back and forth as quickly as you can. Pretend your climbing up a mountain!
Speed Skaters – Begin with one leg crossed behind the other. Reach your opposite arm across towards the supporting leg. Hop laterally (side to side) and cross back with the opposite leg. Repeat back and forth quickly.
Burpees – Begin in a squatted position with hands on floor in front of you. Jump feet back behind you as you lower torso to the ground (like in the bottom phase of a push-up). Jump your feet back up towards your hands as if in the starting position again. Jump straight up into the air extending your arms vertically to the sky, and repeat.
Side to Side Jumping Lunges – Take right leg out to the side as you bend left knee, turning the body to the left in a runner’s lunge. Touch the right fingers to the floor, if you can. Quickly jump up to shift the feet in the air and lunge to the right side, touching the left hand to the floor. Continue alternating sides quickly.
Lateral Hops – Keep feet directly underneath you, quickly hop sideways over a towel (or an imaginary line) without pausing during the landed phase. Keep your chest up, maintain good posture throughout, and land softly.
Have fun! 
Oh man do plyometrics work you out! That is probably my favorite way to burn a ridiculous amount of calories and tone up in a very short amount of time.
Yes, plyos are sooo intense! I love everything about them but I’m trying to always be careful so that my joints don’t take TOO much impact. But other than that–I feel so empowered and rejuvenated when I do them. :D
Definitely; I’m always super careful when I do plyo training – proper shoes and soft landings!
Looks like a great workout! Hopefully I will get access to a treadmill soon and can try it out!
Love that anyone a beginner or advanced participant can do this. Part of the reason I love simple, repetitious interval training. Thanks for sharing Courtney.
looks like fun!!
I’ve been wanting to try a workout where you hop on and off the treadmill, but I don’t own one, so I’d have to do it at the gym, which, let’s face it, is a little embarrassing. Any tips?
So excited to go home and do this workout!! It’s exactly what I was looking for!!
I love mountain climbers – and these step-by-step pictures are great.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This workout seems so fun and a great high intensity workout! My cardio has felt a bit drab as of late, so this workout will definitely come in handy! P.s- I looovvvee burpees! :)
This looks like a killer workout! I can’t wait to try it!
This looks like a great workout!!! Can’t wait to give it a try :D
Thanks for including the step by step pictures! They definitely help!
This looks killer! I definitely suffer from “can’t jump off the treadmill and look like an idiot” syndrome (plus my gym has really tiny aisles so I would definitely be in someone’s way) so I would do the plyos separately.
oo fun! I love workouts that incorporate cardio and plyo! I always end up super sweaty
Definitely looks like a fun one! It makes cardio much less daunting when you can actually get off the machine and do something different for a bit!
Love the photos explaining each move! Great job on this, and thank you for sharing!
Great fun workout…Ill save it for when the gym is quiet!!! :)
No getting bored with this workout! I love it!
Love the how-tos! Workouts are so much better when there are intervals involved.
I wish I had a treadmill at home! There isn’t a ton of room surrounding the treadmills at my gym, so it would be kind of difficult to hop on & off. This looks like a great workout though!
i love mountain climbers! they’re a quick way to get a burst of cardio without needing a gym!
I might die going into any kind of run into a minute of burpees…woof! on the other hand….I should probably make myself do it. haha!
This workout looks awesome Courtney!!! Totally pinned it so I can try it :). I love mixing plyos into my workouts.
I did it! I’ll be doing it again.
I love the “hop on / hop off” idea. Such a great boredom buster.
Where do you get the images of the exercises? I’ve been putting off 2-3 posts for Twenties Hacker with really good workout ideas because I was going to film myself doing them, but would rather just use good demo images.
Thanks!
I create them in Excel and just take a screen shot of them :)
Oh, no, I didn’t mean the graphic. I’m actually a graphic designer. I was asking about the images demonstrating your exercises. Do you just google them? Or is there a stock website somewhere?
OH, lol, I just search for them online
coolsville! :) PS just read your HA post. Glad you shared. I’ve been trying to be more open on my blog, but I don’t have quite the pressure you do since I have all of 6 readers (including my mom) ;)